8/30/2012

When I die, the masses will not mourn for me. There will be no candlelit vigil to mark my passing or any flags waving at half mast.

I have not inspired great movements of transformation or caused people to rally together and rise up in unity in support of a common good, but I have changed the world.

In quiet ways.

I have held the door for a passing stranger. I have slowed down so that the car beside me could change lanes. I have helped an elderly woman take her recycling to the curb when it proved too heavy for her to lift on her own. I have bought the person behind me at the Drive-Thru a coffee. I have let the person behind me in line at the grocery store, with only two items, go first. I have baked cupcakes for the homeless. I have taught old dogs new tricks. I have made babies laugh. I have helped the dying live.

I may not have been responsible for any reformations or revolutions, but my life has mattered.